Van Spratford II, KCFDC# 1122 7/17/76 – 8/3/18

With much sadness, the Kansas City Flying Disc Club regrets to inform you that Van Spratford II, KCFDC #1122 & PDGA #12695, passed away Friday evening of unknown causes. He leaves behind his wife, Amy, and a daughter, Hannah. He was born July 17, 1976. Van was 42 years old.

There will be a small memorial service to celebrate Van’s life on August 11, 2018 @ 11 am at Swope Park near the large pavilion off of Swope Parkway near the Starlight entrance.

Van was a huge part of the Kansas City disc golf community. If you ever played Swope Park on a Tuesday night league, Van would always be there to greet you with a smile. Not only was he a league director, he never hesitated to step up to a larger role as Course Director for the Kansas City Wide Open. In addition, he always helped with the Kansas City Ice Bowl and many other events. Many of the tournament directors throughout KC, when planning to run an event, usually had Van at the top of their list to call when they needed help.

Van was a quiet man who didn’t ask for much attention or recognition. He just wanted to be there for the community, and to do what was needed to make our club successful. That was apparent in everything he did for Kansas City disc golf. He didn’t get star struck when the top players in the world would play Swope League. He would just smile, shake their hands, and sign them up to play. He was a true professional. However, he was also a fan, preferring bottom-stamped Rocs or Makos to gather signatures of the touring pros and others who participated at each KC Wide Open.

The only thing he loved more than disc golf was his family. He often talked about his wife and daughter with so much love and joy. As part of our KC disc golf family, he often showed that kind of love by always being there when we needed him most. In that respect, we should be there for him and his family at this time of great sadness.

On behalf of the entire Kansas City disc golf community, thank you Van for everything you have done for us over the years—as a volunteer and a friend. We hope that you can rest peacefully now. We will carry the torch you bore for so many years with hopes that we can honor your memory every day by giving as much as we can to fill the void that has been created with your untimely passing.

Because of his love for disc golf and the local disc golf community, Amy Spratford has asked that in lieu of flowers, we donate money in Van’s memory to the Kansas City Flying Disc Club. See donation information below. One use for the money raised will be for a memorial to Van at the new Swope course. The rest of the funds will reflect exactly what Van did…helping disc golf in Kansas City.

Comments

–>> Van was / is a great Soul. Growing up, i din’t always agree with him – – but he and his family treated me as one of their own.

The summer before his passing, while visiting his old home town in Southern Colorado – he gifted me with solace that i had never had when his other family members had passed. He told me that they were proud of me and my accomplishments and that he was too. My brother here was the last of my childhood friends to pass. I am grateful for the gift of his friendship, and particularly of my final conversation with him in 2017. I am also grateful for his real social network of friends in K.C. & at the KCFDC. I recall his enthusiasm for such a unique sport when we were younger.

Peace to all his friends and to Van’s family here and wherever they are now.